Palisades Defense Dominates Hamilton in a Western League Showdown

It was a sold-out crowd for Palisades’ homecoming football game against Hamilton on Friday night which saw Palisades and Hamilton, both unbeaten in league play, put their perfect records on the line.

Palisades showed discipline on defense and explosiveness on offense which accumulated in a 35 point margin at one point in the game. 

Hamilton would have a late offensive surge but the deficit would prove too much and Palisades were able to take the air out of the game and walk away with another League victory

Palisades Came Ready to Play 

Palisades came into the game ready to play. From the first whistle, Palisades had a tenacity and fierceness that helped them contain an explosive Hamilton offense. Freshman running back, Aiden Jones, put Palisades on the board in the 3rd minute of the 1st quarter.

It wouldn't take long for the Dolphins to strike again as they would make it 14-0 with 40 seconds left in the quarter. From this point forward, the momentum would be completely in Palisades favor and they would make good use of it in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. 

In the 6th minute of the 2nd quarter, Junior Gardena Serra Transfer, Jameson Della Bella would make it 21-0 heading into halftime. 

The 3rd quarter would be more of the same. Hamilton’s offense never got into a rhythm in the first three quarters. That can be accredited to Palisades' relentless linebackers, who managed to put pressure on 4-Star quarterback, Thaddeus Breaux all game. 

“The defense did a great job putting pressure on him and coming from all different angles.” Palisades Head Coach, Dylen Smith gives a little insight on how he felt his defense performed this game. 

Palisades would add two touchdowns in the span of four minutes to make it 35-0, which prompted the running clock to begin. Hamilton figured out a few things,offensively, late in the game to make things uncomfortable for Palisades to close out the game.

Hamilton’s Late Surge Not enough 

Hamilton would make things interesting to close out the game as they would go on to score 18 unanswered points. A few eyebrows would be raised when Hamilton recovered an onside kick with the score 35-18 and about 4 minutes left to play.

Hamilton would stall out on their next offensive drive, and Palisades would close the game out 35-18. This result, 8 weeks into the season, is the first game decided by more than six points for Palisades this season. 

“I have teachers on campus telling me to stop giving them a heart attack.” Coach Smith joked. He further stated “I think the kids were really ready to put games away early now.”

Palisades Western League Favorites

This win not only gives Palisades a 4-game winning streak, it also puts them in the driver seat to become Western League champions for the 2nd year in a row as they have beat the tougher teams in the league thus far.

Palisades’ last two league games are against 5th ranked Fairfax and 6th ranked Westchester.

A Western League title will put Palisades at an outside shot to make it into the Open Division City Section playoffs. “We’ll be ready if we are in the Open Division and we’ll be ready if we are in Division 1.” Coach Smith said. 

Palisades moves to 4-3 and will travel to Fairfax (3-5) next week.

Hamilton falls to 3-5 and travels to Venice (4-4) next week.